I started my Orland Park landscape company in 1995 as an eleven year with a lawn mower.
I provided landscape maintenance to earn a profit and it was that simple. Over
time I grew to love my business and wanted to learn more about plants and design.
I eventually decided to get a degree in Ornamental Horticulture so that I could have
the proper foundation to grow my business.
Just as a proper education is the foundation for a successful career
a tree needs a proper root system.
This is something we all know but do not truly appreciate.
I try hard to inform my clients to make bester decisions for their landscape projects.
Something I run into time and again is the client who would prefer to pay more money
to get a bigger tree. I try to explain how a smaller tree will save them money in the
short term and give them a larger fuller tree in the long term but not everyone gets it.
(explanation continued below photo)

The quick and dirty explanation is that trees and shrubs need an equal ration of roots to shoots.
When a larger plant is transplanted it maintains all of its branches (shoots) and looses a
large portion of its roots. It then struggles and drops leafs because the root system can not keep
hydrate and feed the larger plant requires. The plant will struggle for years until the roots and
shoots (branches) are proportionate to one another.
Recently I was inspired to break out my color pencils and create the following illustrations. I hope
they are informative and provide you with the foundation needed to make plant choices that can develop
their own strong foundation.
Now that you know more about picking plants check out our article on how to properly install them
Below are still frames from the above slide show in case it moved too fast to gather all of the information